I never wanted to leave Chelsea: Willian

Willian insists he never wanted to leave Chelsea in the summer and hopes he will remain at Stamford Bridge for the next five years.

Manchester United were interested in signing Willian, while Barcelona had three bids turned down for the Brazil international .

Willian previously claimed there was “no chance” he would have stayed at Chelsea had Antonio Conte remained as manager, but now the 30-year-old insists he never considered leaving the club.

“A lot of people, they say a lot of things in the press, but I never said that I want to leave Chelsea, never,” he told the club’s website.

“Always I say that I want to stay at Chelsea as long as possible, and I am happy to stay here.

The Brazil international insists he always intended to remain with Chelsea

“My mind was always like that, always when I arrive here my plan was to stay here as long as possible and now I am here five years, I hope to stay five more.

“I know I have two years of my contract left but I hope to stay more years in the Premier League.

“I am very happy to be here five years. I have won titles and played a lot of games with a lot of happy moments, and a few sad moments as well but that is part of football. These five years have been very good for me and I am proud to be a Chelsea player.”

Chelsea will look to extend their perfect Premier League record when they host Cardiff on Saturday. Goal.com